Chapter 7: Betrayal
oOo
Kai P.O.V., 2 hours following initiation of "Phase Two": 9:45 P.M.
"Wow, Death Brick IV was better than all the last ones combined!" Jay shouted. "We should watch it again later!"
"Whoa, calm down there, Sparky. I think you're on your sugar high, because you are loud," Cole stated matter-of-factly.
"No, really, Cole? You think he's loud? He's always loud, Dirtclod," I retorted.
"You know what? I think I'm gonna go to sleep now," Lloyd announced.
"I think I'm going to hit the hay, too," Cole agreed.
"What? Why? I was–" Jay began.
"No, you don't! You, sir, are going to bed," Nya stopped Jay from playing another movie, and ushered him towards the boys' room, much to the dismay of the blue ninja.
Zane started to walk out the living room, looking back. "I believe I will go meditate. Goodnight, brothers."
We all walked towards our room. Before we walked in, Lloyd pulled me aside, dragging me back out into the hallway.
"Hey, did you see anything off about Zane?" Lloyd asked.
"Well, he was quiet, but he's always quiet, so no, why?" I replied.
He shook his head. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you anyways," he said quietly.
"Tell me, you know I would at least try to understand," I whispered.
"Fine. You know when I went into the kitchen to check on Zane?" I nodded my head.
"Well, he was kinda shaking, just staring at his knives, you know, the sharp ones? Anyways, I tried to get his attention, and then he just slid down to the floor." He stopped.
"And then?" I probed.
"Well, he kinda grabbed my arm, and then he said that he couldn't control it, and not to believe anything he said," Lloyd finished.
"Honestly, I believe you, I just don't know what to think about it. Let's just hope it was Jay messing around with his wires or something…" My voice trailed off.
"Yeah, you're right," Lloyd walked back into the room, and I quickly followed, changing and brushing my teeth almost immediately.
As I climbed onto the top bunk, Cole looked at me. Living with him for so many years, I knew he wanted to ask me a question.
"What do you want to know, Cole?" I sighed.
"What were you guys talking about?" He inquired.
"Nothing we need to worry about, hopefully," I responded.
oOo
No P.O.V., 4 hours following initiation of "Phase Two": 11:19 P.M.
They did you wrong, why are you hesitating? A voice nagged at the back of Zane's head. They seem like good people, they don't deserve this, he thought, but the Nindroid ultimately decided that it would be best to follow through with the plan. He walked into the Nya's room first, believing he would encounter the least resistance there. Lightly tapping her shoulder, Zane woke the young samurai.
"Zane? What are you doing up so late?" She asked.
"Following through with orders," He responded quietly, followed by a quick injection of propofol into a critical vein.
"What are you doi–" Nya began, but quickly fell unconscious, unable to finish her sentence.
The Nindroid quickly slipped out the room, moving onto the boys' room, equipped with three more syringes. The ninja's sensei's, Wu and Garmadon, were gone, saving the Nindroids' resources, and making the capture easier. Who would pose the largest threat to this operation? Zane wondered to himself. The black one, definitely the black one. With a quiet efficiency, the ice elemental injected an extra dose of propofol into the black ninja's bloodstream, and the customary dose for the rest. A shame I could not retrieve the green one. He would have helped bolster my credibility with the pther Nindroids, but alas, he off, showing off to the children of Ninjago.
After gathering all the ninja together, Zane alerted Cryptor of the completion of Phase Two.
"I need an extraction helo, one of the carriers, the Ninja are heavier than one would think," he chuckled quietly.
"Copy that, carrier inbound. Good job soldier," the Nindroid general responded.
oOo
Cryptor P.O.V., 13 hours following the Ninja's capture: 12:45 P.M.
"They were properly awoken and fed, correct?" I asked B-7-9-1.
"Yes sir, they were shocked awake and given bitter melon and beef for breakfast and lunch," the smaller nindroid acknowledged.
"Bitter melon? How did they respond to that?" I questioned.
"Quite poorly. The blue one claimed to have an allergy to it, and requested to speak to you about it," another guard chimed in.
"You fool! The boy could've died!" I yelled angrily.
"I-I'm sorry sir! I wasn't sure if you wanted to see them!" The soldier protested.
"You know what," I growled, "you were useless anyways. The Overlord won't mind if we were short one soldier. Zane, finish him."
"With pleasure. It was nice knowing you, insubordinate," the former white ninja replied, before shooting the guard straight in the CPU, located in the center of his forehead; a clean shot.
"Now, let's go talk to your old friends," I told Zane.
"They aren't my friends," he grumbled in return. "Just people I used to associate myself with, albeit unwillingly."
B-7-9-1 opened the cell door, revealing five empty bowls, save one with food still inside, untouched, accompanied by four bored ninja and an unconscious one. The four that were awake all jumped up, partially at the loud noise, but also at the sight of one of their own brothers clad in the gear of an enemy Nindroid.
"Good afternoon, ninja. I hope the guards weren't too rough on you," I announce.
"Leave us alone. We don't want anything to do with you, and we certainly won't do anything for you," the red one growled.
"Yeah, the only thing we want is him," the blue ninja joined, pointing at Zane.
The platinum blonde only lifted him by the scruff of his neck in response. "Is that true? Well, I don't want anything to do with you, so keep your mouth shut and let Cryp–" he suddenly dropped the auburn-haired boy, instead clutching his head.
All of the ninja suddenly crowded around him, concerned for his health, despite all he had done against them. The girl looked up. "What did you do to him?!" She spat, daring to look me in the eye.
The Nindroid looked up, his icy blue optics clearly confused, but they were quickly replaced with a hard look. "Get…away…from…ME!" He screamed, quickly rising and distancing himself from his once-brothers.
He looked at me for a directive. I had no other alternative but to separate all the ninja. "Separate all of them. Put them in different cells. Zane,take the blue one. B-7-9-1, get in here and take the red and black ones. I will handle the girl," I ordered. B-7-9-1 scurried in, nodding alongside Zane, who inclined his head ever so slightly.
oOo
Jay P.O.V.: 1:03 P.M
Getting dragged by your own brother, who happens to also be made of metal, was not fun. C'mon Jay, think! my brain told me. Zane suddenly threw me against a concrete wall. Ouch.
"Hey buddy, don't you remember me?" I asked nervously. He tilted his head, as if considering the question.
"I do remember you," he said after a pause. "But I wish not to return to you, scum," he huffed.
That shook me to my core. Zane never called anybody anything rude. But this wasn't Zane. No, the real Zane was somewhere in there, fighting this evil form. Or was he? What if this was his true form? What if this was what he was meant to be? A voice nagged at the back of my head.
"Please Zane, this isn't you! Fight it! I know you're in there, somewhere," I pleaded.
He grabbed by the neck, again. "The Zane you knew is dead. He died the moment you let him go with Cryptor," he said, shaking me.
Suddenly, he set me down. His eyes softened, something that both scared, and relieved me. "Jay, help me," he said quietly. "I cannot control it. Please, do not listen to anything I say. Do not do anything I tell you to, and most importantly, if the time arises, promise me you will not hesitate to strike me down. Now get away from me, before I harm you further."
My eyes began to water, but I slowly backed away from him. "Ok Zane, I promise. Goodbye."
A grunt of pain escaped Zane. It sounded so real, but I knew not to approach, since it was a trap, an excuse for him to attack. He stood up, and stared at me. "Yeah, I'm sure you're wondering how your friends are. I'm sure their being tortured right now."
"No, not really. I'm actually thinking about something else. Care for me to tell you?" I taunted.
"Sure, it's not like I've got anything better to do anyways," he shrugged.
"I wanna know, is the real Zane ever gonna come back?" I asked.
"Oh, you're going to regret saying that," Zane snarled.
He unholstered one of the multiple weapons he had slung across and holstered around his body, and I immediately recognized it as a taser. I gulped, and he chuckled with a sinister tone.
He crouched down to my level, close to the floor. "I'm going to really enjoy torturing you," he whispered, and the world turned to black.
oOo
*Gasp* Evil Zane is so mean. Sorry not sorry. Not gonna lie, this was probably my favorite chapter to write so far, not just because of the evil Zane parts, but because I had to actually research some things, like the propofol, which is a real drug, usually used as an anesthetic. But I'm not your Biology or Medical Sciences teacher. So I hope this chapter was just as good as the other ones, and that the length of it didn't mess with the quality of the story. Before I forget, Death Brick is not real, just another one of my crazy ideas. And with that, cookies and cake!
P.S. Sorry about the oOo thingies. FFN was refusing to give me line breaks, so I just decided to make my own. Hopefully this problem won't happen again.
-Titan's Shadow